WHAT IS THE PRICE OF THE STARS ?
An EXISTENCE EQUATION Interview
An all-new novel and trilogy coming from debut publisher Gungnir searches the far future earth where technology has developed to allow us to travel faster than light , but you cannot be human to do it . To travel across universes , you must become an emotionless android , and you must make the decision by the time you turn 18 .
Read on to hear about how this exhilarating science fiction drama was created !
DIAMOND : For those who aren ’ t familiar , can you tell us what readers can expect from this book ? MATT MEDNEY : This story at its core is an allegory for the absurdity of making our youth decide their life ’ s mission at the age of 18 . We have a simple question for everyone in our world . Would you download your consciousness into an android , forfeit your human emotion for a chance to travel the stars ? Or do you stay a biological , know the stars were within reach , but you didn ’ t act , and get Culled at the age of 60 , for population control in this earth that is now an Eden in 2293 ? We learn all of this by following a 17 year old boy , named Liam Kerr , on his journey of discovery and while he makes the decision of a lifetime that will impact the type of life he is able to live .
How did this project come about ? I had the idea for this about 4 years ago , it just hit me . An allegory for school through science fiction . I always say that science fiction stories are the vehicles in which modern day philosophy is most easily encountered . Then , through a writing partner of mine , Morgan Rosenblum , I met Don Macnab-Stark and we worked on a few client projects together before I brought him the idea as something I would love to collaborate with him on , and then Boom ! We were off to the races .
What kind of obstacles did you face while putting this title together ? Sometimes when you ’ re putting prose books together you find that your writing partner or the subject matter or the universe are against you . However , with Existence Equation , and the subsequent two novels , all of which we have completed before the release of # 1 was some of the smoothest , easiest , free flowing collaboration I have ever had , ( Matt speaking ). All collaborations carry an element of risk , how will you work together , but Matt and I share such an enthusiasm for sci-fi , and for story-telling in general , that it has been a real buzz working together , bouncing ideas off one another , and seeing this story come to life . ( Don speaking ).
What would you say is the most rewarding part of the process ? We had this nascent idea to bring real compelling scifi to a topic that troubles all of our teens , and that as a mote is daunting . We can ’ t wait for everyone to experience – Existence Equation : What is the price of the stars ? But I think we both feel that we nailed the mission we sought to achieve and that is pretty incredible to feel . But the fans will be the final judge ! It also doesn ’ t hurt that the esteemed and iconic Jim Krueger , former creative director of Marvel , New York Times Best Selling Author of JUSTICE , the definitive graphic novel of Justice League , illustrated by the incomparable Alex Ross , was our editor and had nothing but excitement after his pass . As I said , we are pretty jazzed with being able to say we achieved what we set out to in this book and series , and can ’ t wait to share it with people .
In terms of audience , who is this book for ? Hopefully everyone . Ha ! But seriously , we think this is for the teenager all the way up to the 65 year old recounting the life they lived , and imagining what life may be like for the next generation they are leaving this fine planet to .
What are you hoping readers take away from this book ? Simple . Life is about choices . The choices we make , and the choices we don ’ t . Without choices , life is meaningless , and regardless of the choice you make , it is YOUR choice , and yours alone . If we as a group of sentient beings can always remember this , then we can build a future that is compassionate and forgiving , if we can ’ t then we may be moving to a dystopia rather than a Utopia . All decisions have weight , whether it ’ s deciding which school to go to , or what type of body to live in . It ’ s the choices that make us who we are .
30 diamondbookshelf . org